MARLBOROUGH – In its last meeting of the fiscal year, the City Council approved a flurry of transfers, grants acceptances and revolving account renewals Monday night, including funding for the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation, a $200,000 grant to spruce up a city park and $1 million to set aside for long-term retiree health costs.

The item that drew the most substantive discussion was a $514,000 transfer to fund the Economic Development Corporation for the coming fiscal year.

Councilor at Large Mark Oram said that while he appreciates the work done by the agency, he doesn’t believe the organization needs to be funded with city money.

The agency is funded using the money collected by the city through a local options meals tax, the revenues from which are targeted for economic development.

Oram said that he thinks that Marlborough is attractive to business due to the merits of its infrastructure and location and said that the development agency should look for opportunities to pay for its own operations.

"I strongly feel that this group could be more self-sufficient," he said.

Other councilors disagreed and voiced support for the transfer.

"We have certainly reaped the benefits of this agency and their expertise," said City Council President Patricia Pope.

Ward 7 Councilor Donald Landers said he believes the City Council should have added a little more to the transfer so that the agency could hire a downtown coordinator. Landers said that the organization should begin planning downtown events, which have traditionally been organized by volunteers, although interest has dropped off in recent years.

"I think the days of relying solely on volunteers are over," he said.

The City Council voted 9-1 to support the transfer, with Oram voting in opposition and Councilor Ed Clancy absent.

The council also voted to approve a $200,000 state grant to help make improvements to Stevens Park. The city is additionally putting up $470,000 from the Sligo Antenna revolving account to complete the park project and make other improvements at Stevens Park.

Other transfers included a $1 million transfer to shore up the account to pay down the city’s long-term Other Post Employment Benefits liabilities, $1.64 million to snow and ice accounts and $230,000 to cover city electric expenses.

The City Council also voted to renew the public safety, Sligo Antenna and Parks and Recreation revolving accounts, although councilors voted to lower the spending limits on the Sligo Antenna and Parks and Recreation accounts from $150,000 to $50,000. Any expense beyond the spending limits would have to be approved by the City Council.

In other business, the City Council took time at the beginning of Monday’s meeting to recognize local students who were awarded the Marlborough City Scholarship and four new recruits to the Fire Department. The scholarship recipients include four 2014 graduates from Marlborough High School – Christopher Gadd, Cassidy Grace, Matthew Thall and Jillian Webb, and one 2014 graduate from Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School – Shannon Boyle.

Page 2 of 2 - The four new Fire Department recruits recognized by the City Council were Ryan DeGiacomo, Craig Ahearn, Dana Soroka, and Joseph Bisazza.

Kendall Hatch can be reached at 508-490-7453 or khatch@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kendall_HatchMW.